1 Through Boldrewood the chase he led, The Necromancer's felon might; And well in modern verse hast wove Hear, then, attentive to my lay, A knightly tale of Albion's elder day. [Partenopex de Blois, a poem, by W. S. Rose, Esq., was published in 1808. ED.] MARMION. CANTO FIRST. THE CASTLE. I. DAY set on Norham's castled steep,' The battled towers, the donjon keep,2 1 See Appendix, Note C. 'It is perhaps unnecessary to remind my readers, that the donjon, in its proper signification, means the strongest part of a feudal castle; a high square tower, with walls of tremendous thickness, situated in the centre of the other buildings, from which, however, it was usually detached. Here, in case of the outward defences being gained, the garrison retreated to make their last stand. The donjon contained the great hall, and principal rooms of state for solemn occasions, and also the prison of the fortress; from which last circumstance we derive the modern and restricted use of the word dungeon. Ducange (voce DUNJO) conjectures plausibly, that the name is derived from these keeps being usually built upon a hill, which in Celtic is called DuN. Borlase supposes the word came from the darkness of the apartments in these towers, which were thence figuratively called Dungeons; thus deriving the ancient word from the modern application of it. |